Published September 24, 2019
Discover the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria (Javett-UP). The place where everybody can come to engage, through art, with others. It is for those wanting to explore and understand the creativity of this continent.
Work started in 2016. The Centre is set to open in the first half of 2019 with collections from the University of Pretoria and the Javett Foundation. Plans are to open the Centre with an exhibition of 100 South African art works that will be drawn from private and public collections across the country.
The Centre is a partnership between the University of Pretoria and the Javett Foundation. They share a firm belief in the value of the arts for society in general, and for education in particular.
The Javett Foundation contributed towards the resources to build the Centre and has committed to further annual donations over the next decade to support the Centre's financial viability. The facility is to be managed by an independent trust, the Arts Centre Foundation.
For the university community the Centre will provide further resources to strengthen its teaching, learning, research and community outreach activties. It’s a project that is as collegiate as it is philanthropic. It encourages investment in the creative expression of the continent. It extends a compelling invitation to view, engage with, understand and connect afresh with the art of this continent. Africa, after all, is home to the world’s most ancient record of artistic expression.
The building is profoundly changing the face of Pretoria East. When complete, it will comprise nine distinct exhibition spaces, one of which will be housed in an iconic bridge that spans Lynwood Road. This will give the Art Centre a footprint both on the campus of the University of Pretoria and in the city itself. The Centre will be easily accessible to the public.
In addition to the Centre's 20th centrury and contempory collections, it will provide a space for the treasures of Mapungubwe, including the Golden Rhino and other artefacts. The Mapungubwe gallery is, along with the bridge, the commanding focal point of the Centre, towering into the sky. This makes it the dominant landmark in the area.
The building was designed by (Pieter) Matthews & Associates. AECOM is the constructing engineer group. Construction has project managed by Anton Coetzee.
ENDS
Issued by the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria. For more information, please contact connect@javettup.art